NHL on NBC
NHL on NBC is a TV show that televises National Hockey League games on NBC and is produced by NBC Sports. History NBC previously televised the National Hockey League on three different occasions. 1960s NBC was the first1966 - Many years and many technological advances have passed, with the sport seemingly no closer to widespread interest and high ratings in this country than it was in 1966, when NBC became the first US network to broadcast a NHL playoff game. The league and the network believe ...Apr 10, 1966 - Marking the first time the professional championship hockey series will be seen on national television in this country NBC has arranged to ... on April 17 and 24 If the competition for the Stanley Cup is still in progress NBC TV will carry games on May 1 and 8 In the NHL playoffs the ... United States television network to air a national broadcast of a Stanley Cup Playoff game. They provided coverage of four Sunday afternoon playoff gamesFeb 27, 1966 - The News said it learned ex-; that NBC and NHL have "worked out the broad outlines of the plan to televise from three to five games on consecutive Sundays, starting April! 10 until the conclusion of the playoffs." Telecasting of this year s Stanley Cup Sunday play was a ...Feb 27, 1966 - NHL Near. Deal for TV of Cup Games. The National Broadcasting company and the National Hockey league are nearing completion of a deal for television rights to some of the Stanley cup playoff games in April. tional hookup, reportedly Is dickering for only five Sunday games-thru ... during the 1966 postseasonFeb 28, 1966 - No announcement has been made as to how much NBC is paying the NHL for the rights to televise the games nationally, but advertisers are being charged $12000 a minute for ... Apparently, the NHL and NBC have decided to conduct a test run by televising this year's Stanley Cup playoffs. .... On April 10Apr 9, 1966 - Since Los Angeles has been awarded a National Hockey League franchise you may want to scout the talent by observing the Stanley Cup Playoffs delivered by NBC Channel 4 in color Sunday at 3 pm. and April 17Apr 16, 1966 - Sunday's matinee at the Chicago Stadium again puts the Black Hawks in the host role for the first cup series in National Hockey League history to be televised nationally by NBC. However, the TV opener on the Stadium's powder-blue colored ice for color TV last Sunday resulted in a 7-0 ..., NBC aired semifinal games between the Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings. On April 24Apr 24, 1966 - The National Hockey League's Stanley Cup playoff, between Montreal and Detroit, begins today in Montreal NBC will telecast to- day s game in color beginning at 1:S0 o clock on channel 5. Shows giving way during the hockey time period are Desilu Playhouse, Lloyd Thaxton, ... and May 1Mar 29, 1966 - NBC will carry three games on consecutive Sundays April 10 17 and 24 and will also televise games Ion May 1 and May 8 if the Stanley Cup playoffs ... Black Hawks Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings will participate. The NHL playoff never has been carried on a national network., NBC aired Games 1 and 4Apr 29, 1966 - A National Hockey League team doesn't wait to begin preparing for the Stanley Cup playoffs once the regular season is concluded ... Smith has four and Bathgate who was blanked for an amazing 36 the regular schedule had six powerplay goals. Game No 4 will be played here Sunday afternoon NBC TV. of the Stanley Cup Finals between the Montreal Canadiens and the Detroit Red Wings. Win Elliot served as the play-by-play man while Bill MazerThrough the years there were sporadic telecasts, mainly of Stanley Cup games, including some NBC playoff games in 1966 worked by Bill Mazer and Win Elliot. served as the color commentator for the games. NBC's coverage of the 1966 Stanley Cup Finals marked the first time that hockey games were televised on network television in colorApr 10, 1966 - It will start at 1:30 o clock, in Chicago Stadium, under the direction of NBC-TV, which will beam it across the United States an- other first at ... This is a National Hockey league deal, and Chicago is blacked out of all of them. But elsewhere they will be shown in brilliant colors. .... The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation would follow suit the following year. NBC's Stanley Cup coverage preempted a sports anthology series called NBC Sports in Action hosted by Jim Simpson and Bill Cullen, who were between-periods co-hosts for the Stanley Cup broadcasts. 1970s From 1972Jul 7, 1972 - The National Hockey League, which has threatened legal action against its players who jump to a rival league, yesterday shocked the Columbia Broadcasting System by jumping to the National Broadcasting Company. tin a' three-year television deal. worth about $7-million-more than double ...–1975NHL on NBC - Not the Modern VersionNbc Considers Icing The Puck, NBC not only televised the Stanley Cup FinalsMay 8, 1973 - Lurking in the Forum lobby tomorrow night will be Lefty Reid, curator of the National Hockey League Hall of Fame in Toronto. ... If the Habs do win, the cup will be presented at center ice and for the NBC cameras to Montreal's Captain Henri Richard, and that will-make it a record 11 ... (in actuality, a couple of games in prime timeMay 24, 1975 - If the NHL series goes to a seventh game NBC will carry it in prime time Thursday CBS is covering all NBA title games A seventh game would be ... NBC which proudly proclaims most live coverage of major sports except in Los Angeles where KNBC has a special tape delay machine for Monday ...), but also weekly regular season games1970s "NHL on NBC" Schedules on Sunday afternoons. NBC also aired several regular season and playoff games in prime time during this period (namely, during the 1972–1973 season). Tim RyanMar 4, 1975 - Hockey fans who feared that the National Hockey League game of the week series on NBC-TV would end before the close of this season, should disregard a rumor that American Basketball Association games might replace the series on Sunday afternoons. Tim Ryan, announcer on the hockey ... and Ted LindsayDec 14, 1972 - Lindsay former Detroit Fed Wing star was named as color commentator for the National Hockey League Game of the Week telecasts the National ... a former St Lawrence hockey star and a Canadian broadcaster who will handle be tween period interviews. The NBC telecasts begin Dec 29. (with Brian McFarlane as the intermission host) served as the commentators for NBC's NHL coverage during this period. Since most NHL teams still didn't have players' names on the backs of jerseys, NBC persuaded NHL commissioner Clarence Campbell to make teams put on players' names on NBC telecasts beginning with the 1973–74 season to help viewers identify players. NBC's NHL coverage during the 1970s was probably most notable for the introduction of the animated character Peter PuckJan 25, 1975 - Of course, it was a personal opinion, because NBC, which carries the NHL schedule, had not contracted to carry the all-star game. The sport simply hasn't generated mass interest, despite all the attempts by "Peter Puck' to educate viewers; and this is all too sadly reflected in the ...Feb 25, 1975 - But Lindsay is just one aspect of NBC's utter Insensitivity to the vicious bloodlust that sometimes characterizes NHL hockey Peter Puck is even worse. That's right Peter Puck the silly cartoon character NBC uses as a guide for new hockey fans is an insidious commercial for the .... Peter Puck, whose cartoon adventures (produced by [[Hanna-Barbera) appeared on both NBC's Hockey Game of the Week and CBC's Hockey Night in Canada, explained hockey rules to the home viewing audience. Besides Peter Puck, the 1970s version of The NHL on NBC had a between periods feature titled Showdown. The concept of Showdown involved with 20 (16 shooters and four goaltenders) of the NHL's greatest players going head-to-head in a taped penalty shot competition. After the NHL left NBC in 1975May 25, 1975 - Because, in the 15 years John Ziegler was president of the league, it failed to get a major US network TV contract. The NHL left NBC on May 25, 1975, and hasn't returned to network TV on a regular basis since. Industry insiders predict it won't be back ..May 31, 1975 - The programs also shed light on that cheating ages scandal in the Little League World Series which the Taiwan five out of last six The president ... NBC has offered to carry only the playoffs next season If the NHL wants its season schedule on a network it will have to shop elsewhere ...Jun 3, 1975 - And one week ago as the Flyers were shutting out the Sabres in the fierce exciting windup to a splendid NHL season NBC the network with the catch slogan about being No 1 etc was beaming Adam12 and a cheap jack made for TV movie. NOW COMES the inevitable word that NBC wants out of hockey In ...Jun 9, 1975 - NHL telecasts slip off air. The National Hockey League has failed as a major television attraction. NBC has offered the league a limited contract for the 1975-76 season, but it includes only Stanley Cup playoff games. A network spokesman said the offer was made based on disappointing ..., Showdown continued to be seen on Hockey Night in Canada and local television broadcasts of U.S.-based NHL teams. Prior to January 14, 2006, NBC's last regular season NHL game occurred on April 6, 1975. The game in question featured the Minnesota North Stars at the Chicago Blackhawks. Schedules 1972-73 :Note: All start times at 3:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. 1973-74 :Note: All start times at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. 1974-75 :Note: All start times (with the exception of the January 19 and February 9 telecasts) at 4:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. 1990s From 1990–1994Jan 21, 1994 - Welcome to the NHL All-Star game, which returns to the bright lights of New York's Madison Square Garden for the first time in 21 years, just as the league is ... will be televised nationally Saturday by NBC (Chs. 4 and 5) at 3 pm, the first US network broadcast of the season. ...Jan 21, 1994 - Speaking of WLBZ-TV, the NBC affiliate will serve up a busy sports weekend. In addition to the NHL All-Star game, the station is televising the University of Hartford vs. Maine men's basketball game at 1 pm and the UMaine hockey team's game against Boston College at 7 pm Saturday. ...Jan 23, 1994 - So you have more guys who can't skate, more coaches who won't let them and less motivation than usual in games that mean something, and the game the NHL shows the nation on NBC is even worse. Yep, the NHL is in midseason form.Jan 23, 1994 - The game was carried by NBC and was a publicity success for a league that is striving for a higher profile under a new commissioner while ... Gretzky, when asked if the format could be improved so far as intensity goes, suggested that NHL players from Canada play NHL players from other ...Jan 24, 1994 - anything different said Glenn Adamo the NHL's director of broadcasting who supervised production of the game I walked away from the game feeling a few more people got turned on to hockey. But even Orr was offsides once or twice a season and NBC was similarly imperfect Its desire to ..., NBC onlyOct 16, 1990 - Ziegler was asked to explain the controversial NHL drug policy, explore the league's contract talks with SportsChannel, ... The All-Star Game will be televised by NBC, the NHL's once-a-year showcase on a national network. But since players aren't going all out to stop their opponents ...Feb 17, 1991 - NBC It has interest in one hockey game a year the NHL All Star Game but its interest has not waned It's one game you can clear an entire network for because you can guarantee Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux being in it said Nixon They have a strong interest in continuing it Likewise the ...Jan 17, 1992 - For local viewers who don't receive the SportsChannel cable network, Saturday is their one chance to watch an NHL game this season. SportsChannel carries both regular-season and playoff games. NBC presented the 1990 All-Star Game on Sunday but the network switched to Saturday's format ... televised the National Hockey League All-Star GameOct 16, 1991 - NBC Sports and the National Hockey League announced an agreement yesterday that will keep the league's All-Star Game on network television for the next two seasons. NBC televised the 1990 and 1991 All-Star Games. The 1992 game will be televised from the Spectrum in Philadelphia on ...Mar 29, 1992 - Except for the All-Star Game, the NHL hasn't been on network TV since NBC's three-year run ended in 1975. This year's 2.3 All-Star Game rating was the lowest since NBC began airing the game in 1990. The NHL opted to forego ESPN's much-larger audience in 1989 for the $17 million offered ...Aug 27, 1992 - The NHL would then sell the advertising to recoup the cost of the air time. ESPN might carry about 20 regular season games and the Stanley Cup finals. ESPN and ABC are owned by the same company, Capital Cities. Although NBC has carried the all-star game the last three seasons, .... Mike Emrick and John Davidson called the action, while Pierre McGuire served as an ice-level reporter in 1990. Meanwhile, Bill Clement served as an ice-level reporter in 1991, 1992 and 1994. Hockey Night in Canada's Ron MacLean also served as an ice-level reporter, and was the lone correspondent for NBC for the 44th National Hockey League All-Star GameNBC's ALL-STAR TELECAST in 1993. Brenda BrenonJan 21, 1994 - Do not adjust your set at 3 pm Saturday if you watch the NHL All-Star Game on Channel 2 and see Channel 7 sports reporter Brenda Brenon. Brenon is working on intermission features for the NBC telecast, which is being produced by the league. Reached in New York, Brenon said she was ... worked on NBC's intermission features for the 1994 All-Star Game. When NBC broadcast the 1990 All-Star Game , it marked the first time since Game 6 of the 1980 Stanley Cup Finals aired on CBSMar 29, 1989 - CBS carried the last NHL game on network television May 24 1980 when the New York Islanders beat the Philadelphia Flyers in the sixth game of the Stanley Cup finals to win the first of their four NHL titles NBC last televised NHL games in 1975. HALL OF FAME Alan Eagleson executive ...Mar 29, 1989 - Hockey's last network appearance was May 24 1980 when CBS carried the Islanders Game 6 overtime victory against the Flyers to clinch the Stanley Cup NBC last carried hockey in the spring of 1975 when Peter Puck explaining the rules was the biggest star. This time around the NHL AllStar ..., that a National Hockey League game would be nationally televised on an American over-the-air networkNBC announced Tuesday that it will televise the 1990 and 1991 NHL All-Star games, the first time the league will be on network television in nearly a decade.. The Montreal Canadiens were slated to host the 1990 All-Star Game, but however withdrew their bid to considerations due to the superb hosting by Quebec City of Rendez-Vous '87. This had allowed the Pittsburgh Penguins, who wanted to host an All-Star Game in 1993, to move up three years early. For its part, Pittsburgh's organizers added much more to previous games, creating the first "true" All-Star weekendOct 13, 1989 - NEW FORMAT The NHL will begin a weekend format for its all star game in 1990 that will include skills competitions an oldtimers game and a national broadcast by NBC the league said. The 1990 game will be played in Pittsburgh on Sunday Jan 21 The Heroes of Hockey game and the skills .... Firstly was the addition of the Heroes of HockeyMar 29, 1989 - NBC is going to televise the next two NHL all- star games, the first time the league will be on US network television in nearly a decade. The games, on Sundays Jan. 20, 1990, and Jan. 21, 1991, will be accompanied by a televised "Legends" game on SportsChannel America cable on the ... game, a two-period oldtimers' game between past NHL greats. The second was the addition of the National Hockey League All-Star Skills Competition, a competition between the players invited to the All-Star Game. The Skills competition was created by Paul Palmer, who adapted the Showdown feature seen on Hockey Night in Canada from 1973 to 1980. All-Star players would be rewarded with $2,500 for any win in the skills competition. To accommodate the altered activities, the game itself was played on a Sunday afternoonOct 13, 1989 - All-Star Game on NBC: Lights, action, and NBC cameras - the NHL All-Star Game is going big time in the baseball-football drenched US television market. Beginning with the 1990 classic in Pittsburgh, a weekend format will be implemented, with a skills competition and an oldtimers game ... instead of a Tuesday night, as was the case in previous years. This allowed American broadcaster NBC to air the game live across the United States - marking (surprisingly) the first time that a national audience would see Wayne GretzkyMay 11, 1989 - The NHL will be spared the embarrassment of Gretzky drawing viewers away from the Stanley Cup playoffs No playoff game is scheduled to go head to head against Saturday Night Live. NBC has an interest in Gretzky because it will televise the NHL All Star Game next season ... and Mario Lemieux play. Referees and other officials were also wired with microphones in this game, as were the two head coachesJan 19, 1991 - Last year, the NHL allowed NBC to place microphones on All-Star coaches Pat Burns and Terry Crisp. The coaches won't be miked today. "We had ambitious thoughts last year," said Albert. "It ended up interfering with the play-by-play . We'd be quiet to hear the coaches and either you .... Finally, NBC also was allowed to conduct interviews with players during stoppages in play, to the chagrin of the Hockey Night in Canada crew, whose attempts to do likewise were repeatedly denied by the league in past years. In 1991Jan 20, 1991 - Yet, anyone unfamiliar with hockey who watched the game in its rare network appearance on NBC-TV must have wondered why there had been so much ... The NHL could have sold the seats in the penalty box at fancy prices for the first two periods. In the final period, the Winnipeg Jets' ..., NBC broke awayJan 20, 1991 - NBC CBS and ABC broadcast sporting events as scheduled yesterday but all left their regular programming for more than a half hour to televise ... and Villanova when it aired the news briefing About five minutes later NBC broke away from the NHL AllStar Game which was in the third period ...Jan 20, 1991 - Unlike the regular-season contests, NHL All-Star games have little contact and a lot of scoring. The 16 goals have been exceeded only once in ... NBC pre-empted its broadcast early in the third period to cover the war against Iraq, which was acknowledged by the Stadium crowd through a ... from the telecast in the third period to televise a briefing from the Pentagon involving the Gulf War. SportsChannnel AmericaFeb 17, 1989 - SportsChannel America reaches approximately 7 million homes and continues to meet resistance in efforts to be carried by new cable systems; a deal with NBC to supplement SportsChannel's games would provide wide exposure for the NHL and is worth pursuing. ...Mar 16, 1989 - NBC's cable partner SportsChannel America still will televise the bulk of NHL games. We are still negotiating NHL Commissioner John Ziegler said Wednesday It's a three way discussion between SportsChannel America which has the rights NBC and us. NBC executive vice president Al Barber ... included the missing coverage in a replay of NBC's telecast. NBC by the way, owned 50%Jan 31, 1989 - National Hockey League: Hockey has had difficulties on network TV, but with NBC a 50 percent partner of NHL rights holder SportsChannel America, NBC could add a Saturday NHL game of the week. NBC has a more pressing programming problem than does ABC. Whereas baseball represented only 8 ...Mar 14, 1989 - Now that NBC has purchased a chunk of SportsChannel America, there is reason to believe the network will experiment with hockey telecasts. A possibility under discussion would put the NHL All-Star Game from Pittsburgh on NBC the afternoon of Sunday, Jan. 28, 1990. The NHL has been ...Apr 7, 1989 - ... ... agreement between NBC and Cablevision Systems Corporation In that agreement SportsChannel will be operated jointly by NBC and Rainbow Program Enterprises The All Star games in 1990 and 1991 will be televised by NBC League President John Ziegler said The NHL All Star Game is the NHL's ...Apr 18, 1989 - Did the NHL take an unnecessary penalty when it switched to SportsChannel America from ESPN? If it wanted to become an American national sport, yes. If it wanted to present more of its product to NHL cities, no. Now will NBC, a partner of SportsChannel America, take over hockey ... of Rainbow Enterprises, the parent of SportsChannel AmericaThe NHL's national TV contract is with SportsChannel America, which is half-owned by NBC. It would be feasible for the partners to peel off one playoff game each Saturday afternoon for NBC.. There were reportsJun 7, 1991 - Now Cablevision will watch to see what happens with the NHL Rumors say NBC might take a regular season game of the week with other games on ESPN or Prime The playoffs might go to Prime or maybe pay per view ESPN wouldn't take the playoffs because of its baseball commitments ... about NBC making an arrangement to air four to eight regular season games for the 1992–1993 seasonNHL eyes NBC national breakthrough but nothing materialized. NHL officials had arranged a 4–8 game, time-buy package on NBC, but that fell through when the NHL wanted assurance that all NBC affiliates would carry the games. (Since 2006, NBC has generally gotten all but a couple of affiliates in the Top-50 markets to carry the games.) For instance, in 1990, NBC's affiliates in Atlanta, Charlotte, Memphis, New Orleans, Indianapolis and Phoenix didn't clear the game. Ultimately, roughly 15% of the nation didn't have access to the game. ABC was the league's network broadcaster instead, and then Fox won a bidding war with CBS for TV rights lasting from the 1994–1995 through 1998–1999 seasons. 2000s Terms of the deal In May 2004, NBC reached an agreement with the NHL to broadcast a slate of regular season games and the Stanley Cup Finals. The plan called for NBC to air at least six weeks of regular season games (three regional games each week) on Saturday afternoons. Also, NBC was to show 1-2 playoff games per weekend during the playoffs. Up to five games of the Stanley Cup Finals would air in prime time (OLN/Versus received the other two as part of its package). NBC's primary game each week, as well as the Stanley Cup Finals, would air in high definition. Unlike previous network television deals with the NHL (like Fox, who had the rights from 1994–1999 and ABC, who had the rights from 1999–2004), NBC paid no upfront rights fee, instead splitting advertising revenue with the league after meeting its own production and distribution costs. On the other hand, the league avoided the arrangement some minor sports leagues have, where they pay networks for broadcast time and produce their own telecasts, but keep any advertising revenue. The last time NBC Sports entered a television deal which didn't require them to pay any rights fees was in 1994–1995, when they were involved in the Major League Baseball joint venture called "The Baseball Network." To a lesser extent, NBC also had a similar sort of revenue-sharing agreement with the Arena Football League. NBC's out-of-market games were available on NHL Center Ice through 2006–07; NBC switched to stand-alone games in 2007–08. 2004–05 NHL lockout NBC's initial contract with the NHL ran for two years, with a network option to renew for two more. NBC's NHL coverage was delayed a year because of the 2004–05 NHL lockout, which wound up cancelling the entire regular season and playoffs. NBC instead, decided to replace five of its scheduled NHL broadcasts with alternate sports programming (such as reruns of NASCAR Year in Review and The Purina Incredible Dog Challenge). NBC also decided to give one of the slots back to local affiliates. 2005–06 NHL season The NHL on NBC's new agreement debuted on January 14, 2006, with three regional games (New York vs. Detroit, Colorado vs. Philadelphia, and Dallas vs. Boston) to substantial praise among hockey fans and writers, who often compare national TV network's presentation to Hockey Night in Canada, which is broadcast in full on the NHL Center Ice package (although some writers even speculated that NBC's playoff broadcasts were superior to CBC's, largely because of announcers and HD coverage of games prior to the Finals). 2005–06 schedule 2006–07 NHL season For the 2006–07 season, NBC broadcast three regional games per weekend of coverage during the regular season. They also scheduled ten coverage windows during the playoffs (not including Stanley Cup Finals). The additional broadcasts were expected to replace the Arena Football League, which NBC dropped after the 2006 season. NBC also produced two games per week in high definition, up from one in 2005-06. The newly titled NHL on NBC Game of the Week premiered for a second season January 13, 2007 with three regional games (LA vs. STL, BOS vs. NYR, PIT vs. PHI) at 2:00 p.m. ET. Games started at various times, ranging from 12:30 to 3:30 during the season (this variation primarily resulted from NBC's commitments to the PGA Tour and other programming). 2006–07 The NHL on NBC moved to Sundays after its season premiere (listed above) for the final eight dates of the season. NBC's nine games amounted to the league's most extensive U.S. broadcast television coverage since 1998, during Fox's tenure. 2007 playoffs controversy On May 19, 2007, during the Stanley Cup playoffs, NBC angered many fans and journalists when it pre-empted coverage of the overtime period of the tied Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Ottawa Senators and Buffalo Sabres, instead going directly to pre-race coverage of the 2007 Preakness Stakes (a horse racing broadcast generally contains about two hours of pre-race coverage, with the actual races lasting two or three minutes). Coverage of the overtime period was shunted to Versus, the league's cable partner, although viewers in the Buffalo and Rochester markets were able to continue watching the game on WGRZ and WHEC, their local NBC affiliates. The move was originally seen not only as a snub of small-market teams (such as the Sabres), but of hockey in general. However, NBC and the NHL later revealed that the Preakness deal had been made several years before and contained mandatory advertising commitments during the pre-race build-up. Both sides could have agreed that the entire game would air only on Versus or begin earlier in the day, but the NHL wanted at least one Eastern Conference Finals game to air on NBC, and said that it does not schedule with the assumption that games will go into overtime. Moreover, an earlier start time could not be arranged because the broadcast window was fixed in advance, and both the NHL and NBC needed the flexibility to pick the Western Conference Finals for that window if they so desired. In 2006, NBC televised Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals between the [[2005–06 Buffalo Sabres season|'Buffalo Sabres']]' '''and the' Carolina Hurricanes' on the same day as the Preakness. Before the game, Bill Clement advised the audience that in the event that the game went into overtime, it would be televised on Versus, or '''OLN' as it was known at the time. The Sabres won the game in regulation. ''NHL on NBC Faceoff'' For the 2006–07 season, NBC added an online, broadband-only pregame show to its NHL coverage. This is similar to what it does with its Notre Dame football coverage. Titled NHL on NBC Countdown to Faceoff, it airs for a half-hour before every NHL on NBC telecast on NBCSports.com. The show features a breakdown of upcoming action, as well as reports from the game sites and a feature on an NHL player. 2007 and beyond On March 27, 2007, NBC Sports and the NHL agreed to a one-year contract extension with a network option for a second year. Beginning in 2007–08, NBC has "Flex Scheduling", similar to NFL broadcasts. The league selects at least three potential games at the start of the season for most of NBC's regular-season coverage dates. Thirteen days prior to the game, NBC selects one to air as its Game of the Week. The other two games move outside of NBC's broadcast window and return to teams' regional carriers. Since the league made network coverage a priority in the 1990s, regionalized coverage had been the norm; NBC is the first network to try regularly presenting one game to the entire nation. Additionally, studio segments now originate from the game site instead of 30 Rockefeller Center. All games are produced in 1080i high definition. On New Years Day, January 1, 2008, NBC began its 2007–08 schedule with an outdoor hockey game (the AMP NHL Winter Classic) between the Buffalo Sabres and Pittsburgh Penguins at Ralph Wilson Stadium. The game went head to head with some of the New Year's Day college football bowl games, but none of the feature Bowl Championship Series games. While never expected to beat or directly compete with football ratings the timing was designed to take advantage of the large audience flipping between channels to watch the different bowl games. It was the first such game to be televised live by an American network and the NHL's first outdoor regular season game since the Edmonton Oilers and Montreal Canadiens played the Heritage Classic, which aired on CBC. CBC also showed the 2008 outdoor game. Although originally maligned as a mere publicity stunt by some in the media, the 2008 Winter Classic drew a 2.6 Nielsen rating in the U.S. (or about 2.9 million viewers), the highest rating for a regular-season contest since February 1996, when Fox was the league's network partner.Bleacher Report > NHL Winter ClassicBloomberg.com > NewsWinter Classic Ratings By comparison, CBS received a 2.7 rating for the Gator Bowl, which also had a 1 p.m. start. New Year's Day aside, all regular-season telecasts now air on Sunday afternoons. In April 2008, NBC announced the activation of its option to retain broadcasting rights for the 2008–2009 season. NBC's scheduling will be similar to the 2007–2008 season (flex scheduling for regular-season games, up to five games of the Stanley Cup Finals—changing in 2009 to include Games 1, 2 and 5-7) except that all (or nearly all) of the Sunday-afternoon games will begin at 12:30 p.m. Eastern time. Coverage again included an outdoor game, which was between the Detroit Red Wings and the Chicago Blackhawks at Wrigley Field on January 1, 2009. In 2010, NBC would retain the rights to the NHL. They continued to broadcast the Winter Classic, Sunday-afternoon games at 12:30 p.m. Eastern time, six weekends of playoff action, and Games 1, 2, and 5-7 of the Stanley Cup Finals. Teams featured The NHL on NBC usually only features U.S.-based teams, except during the Stanley Cup playoffs, when broadcasting a game involving a Canadian team might be unavoidable. NBC has the first choice of games and times on its scheduled broadcast dates. CBC and TSN are required to adjust accordingly during the playoffs, even though both pay the league substantial rights fees. In 2008, this changed as the Montreal Canadiens was the first Canadian team featured on the NHL on NBC during the regular-season (NBC Sports' Dick Ebersol is rumored to have specifically wanted to do a game from Montreal at some point). They played the New York Rangers on February 3. Like its predecessors, NBC frequently chooses games with a focus on about six teams (New York Rangers, Detroit Red Wings, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Boston Bruins) and most recently the Washington Capitals and Chicago Blackhawks. The relation has very little correlation with team success; for instance, the Anaheim Ducks won the Stanley Cup in 2007, and the Buffalo Sabres made it to the conference finals in both 2006 and 2007. Those teams received one and two potential games respectively in the 2008 season, compared to the seven potential games given to the Rangers and the four games which could include the Flyers. However, no team can air more than four times during the regular-season. The most frequently cited reasons for this relative lack of diversity are low ratings in a market (such as for Anaheim, which competes with the older Los Angeles Kings in its market) and market size (such as for Buffalo, where hockey ratings are the highest in the league, but the market itself is the smallest of any American NHL team). Innovations Some of NBC's innovations include putting a star clock underneath the scoreboard at the top of the screen. During each game, NBC takes one player from each team and clocks how long that player is out on the ice each time he comes out for a shift. Also, goalies like Pittsburgh's Marc-Andre Fleury may wear cameras inside their masks, much like Major League Baseball on Fox asks catchers to do. Finally, NBC puts one of its analysts in between the two teams' benches for what they call Inside the Glass reporting. In addition to providing color commentary, this allows the analyst to observe and report on the benches, as well as interviewing the coaches periodically. Personalities Ratings References Category:Broadcasters